Scones and Sensibility

Seek tirelessly and you shall not find a contemporary heroine of middle-grade literature as refined and romantic as Miss Polly Madassa. Still swooning over the romantic conclusions of Pride & Prejudice and Anne of Green Gables, twelve-year-old Polly decides her purpose in life: helping along lonely hearts in search of love. Polly's only task this summer is to make deliveries for her parents' bakery, leaving ample time for this young cupid to find hearts to mend--beginning with the kite-store owner, Mr. Nightquist, who will pair perfectly with Miss Wiskerton (the unfairly labeled town curmudgeon). Polly's best friend Fran Fisk is in desperate need of a mother ever since hers ran off with a man she met on the Internet; Polly must find a match for Mr. Fisk. And while she's at it, it wouldn't hurt to find Clementine, Polly's teenaged sister, a beau worthy of her (so she can shed that brute, Clint). Polly's plans are in full swing, so she definitely cannot be bothered by the advances of classmate Brad Barker. But maybe Polly should have turned her attention to Miss Austen's Emma next, because she quickly learns the pitfalls of playing matchmaker. How will Polly patch up her own relationships, while ensuring that destined love can take its course?

from borders.com

Beth says 3.5 Stars...

This book was really cute. In fact, it went overboard on the cuteness factor. That was the main issue I had with the book. It became so cloyingly sweet that I didn't know what to do. Everything was saturated in pure sugar, and not in a good way. Overall, though, it wasn't bad. Eland is highly talented, as shown by the creation of Polly's highly stylized voice. The plot wasn't the most original concept, but it was less predictable, particularly the ending, than I thought it would be. I guess another major problem I had was the message that everyone needs to be coupled up. This really hits a nerve, because *gets on soapbox* I see it permeating YA and now MG books, and it distresses me. We need to be telling our young girls that they can be complete just by themselves. There's no need for a 12 year-old to be rushing into having a boyfriend. There is no need for anyone to have to define themselves and their value by whether or not they're in a romantic relationship. It concerns me that the next generation will think that this is completely normal. *steps off soapbox*

Polly was likeable enough, but every once in a while I had the strongest urge to strangle her. Speaking like a Victorian lady was cute at first, but then got really irritating. It felt completely contrived, although the phrases were lovely. I think that honestly it's just me, but I really don't enjoy that sort of thing. The supporting case was good, nothing great, but not bad either.

Overall, the book wasn't bad. It just ended not really being to my taste as far as tone, but that's my issue. I think that there's some promising writing talent in Eland, and I look forward to seeing what else she can do. This could be fun for middle school girls looking for something, light fluffy, and overflowing with cuteness.

Book from Publisher

Scones and Sensibility Blog Tour!!!!

Today we're so excited to be a part of the Scones and Sensibility blog tour! Lindsay is a MG debut author, and we decided it would be fun to get to know her a little bit more. On that note, we conducted a lovely interview:

1. What's your favorite Victorian novel? I’d have to say that it’s a three-way tie between Jane Austen’s Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Erye.

2. What inspired you to write Scones and Sensibility? I was inspired by my desire to create a character who was very different than a lot, if not most, middle grade female main characters, as well as a character who reflected a lot of who I was as a middle grade reader…and actually, come to think of it, who I still am.

3. How difficult was it to write the very stylized voice of Polly? It wasn’t hard at all and it was actually tons of fun. Polly cracked me up and I remember anxiously awaiting my writing time each day in anticipation of what she would say or do next. The hardest part of writing her voice was actually to STOP writing or speaking like her after I was done writing for the day.

4. Were you ever a matchmaker and how did that work out? Thank goodness no! I’ve played matchmaker in my head though, and have always been thankful that I never said anything out loud…my matches would’ve been disastrous!

5. In your opinion, what's the best scone? Chocolate chip scones dusted with powdered sugar on top (cause everything tastes better with powdered sugar, right?). Cranberry orange scones are close behind.

6. Do you have a special pastry that you love to make? Yes, I love to make, and devour, chocolate éclairs. In my opinion, they are the epitome of the perfect pastry.

7. Are you more like Clemmy or Polly, and how? Definitely more like Polly. I’m guilty of being overly-dramatic, overly-romantic, and I too would love to go back and live in Regency England if for nothing else than to wear those gorgeous dresses and read all day long.

8. What was your favorite part of writing the novel? I think it was Polly. She was hilarious to me so writing the first draft…which is always the hardest part of writing for me…was completely and utterly fun.

9. How old were you when you read your first Jane Austen book? I’m actually embarrassed to say so, but I didn’t read Pride and Prejudice until I was about 22 or so! And of course, after finishing it, I quickly devoured all her others along with Jane Erye and all of Charles Dickens.

If you want to learn more about Scones and Sensibility look for our review, which will be coming up VERY soon! Also, if you want to continue following the tour, then head over tomorrow to Steph Su at http://stephsureads.blogspot.com/.